Airport Adventures, Continued……

We are having yet another airport adventure. We’ve had many, so here is just another one to add to our travel logs. We were originally flying out of New Bern, NC to Ontario, California on December 26th. Just a small glitch, the storms in other areas affected the aircraft coming in to our non weather problem flightline. Instead of the 50 seater a 35 seater arrived. It was fully booked 50 seater, so yeah, some of us weren’t getting on. Unfortunately we were one of the ones not getting to fly on that plane, or that day! There is only one l fight a day going out. It was kinda like a Space A flashback…… BUT, they did give us $450.00 a person in US Airways vouchers for showing up and trying to fly! Kadena just said, sorry, plane still broken, flight cancelled, or didn’t call our name due to not enough seats and we dejectedly got back in our van and drove back to our concrete house to try again the next flight. We had a 9:05 am flight this morning, much better than the 7 am flight yesterday that made getting up at 3 am soooo NOT fun! Got to sleep till 5 am today. Oh, our luggage made the flight, so it was interesting getting ready this morning with NOTHING! But then it was kinda cool leaving for the airport with like NOTHING!!! We got on a tiny little plane and flew to Charlotte, NC where we got to wait for 4 ½ hours for our next flight. Sooooo fun, NOT. But, I love watching people at the airport! Have you ever ran up to a stranger at an airport and pretended you knew them and began talking to them and telling them how excited you were to run into them after all these years and how funny to run into them at that particular airport? You have to do it, it is soooo funny! But, be careful at an international airport, ‘cause like when they don’t speak English, well it is just like AWKWARD!!! But still funny and like the odds of running into them again are pretty slim! I was going to do that today, but decided I would spare my kids the embarrassment…..maybe on the trip back. Yippee, they are calling our flight!!! 4 hours has flown by fast!!!

Belleau Woods Memorial

We all know the story and the song, here is the memorial to the Marines who fought in the Battle of Belleau Woods

A Soldiers King

A favorite Christmas song of mine. I think it was originally done by Kenny Rogers, but i only found a video from Donny....

Rear View Mirror Flashback

I climbed into the van back in July to start her up. She had been in storage for 6 years while i drove my Town Ace on Okinawa. She was on empty and I was going to drive her to the gas station and put in enough gas to get to the U-Haul place. We were pulling her from South Carolina to North Carolina. Didn't want to drive her after sitting 6 years till she saw the Van Doctor! I adjusted the rearview mirror and the most amazing thing happened! No, a million dollars did not start falling from my windshield; more like a million images flooded my mind! I looked in the mirror to see that I had it right and all of a sudden I just saw this whirl of images, like a ton of photos going real fast in a slide show, but I distinctly knew each of the photos and the giggles and background of each one and each image seemed to hold longer than it actually really did because all this happened soooo incredibly fast! I am ever amazed at what our brain is capable of; especially my little pea sized one!!! I won't share all the snap shots I saw, just a few…but it started with Ryan and Ty in that middle seat. Ryan was facing backwards and Ty was facing me and Ty was talking to newborn Ryan, next Ty was holding Ryan's now bigger hand, now they were both facing forward playing with toys, clashing their dinosaurs together in their little fat hands, Ty tasting Ryan's bottle, them switching sippy cups, toys flying at me while I drove, sippy cups flying at me while I drove, driving thru a snow storm with Ty and Vicki while Ryan was in utero to meet Kelli Kirwan with her kids at Kisha Banks house in Spanish Fork, the kids faces as we stopped on each corner of Miramar as I put money in firemen's boots following the September 11th attacks, the super loooooong waits to get on base following 9/11 with Vicki and Jorden and the other kids I gave rides to doing their homework and the awe on their faces as the gates had transformed into actual bunkers with fortifications, weapons, battle gear worn, etc. The giggles from Ty as the police dogs got into our van to make sure we weren't undercover terrorists, changing diapers during those long waits (yes, always made sure I had extra zip log bags in the diaper bag!), nursing Ryan while I crept along and getting him back in his car seat before we got to the gate, the weekend trips to Sea World, Zoo, and Wild Animal Park, camping, family trips to Disneyland, New Mexico, Northern California. Just this huge wave of history in this vehicle! It was the coolest slide show I had ever seen and it only lasted maybe 1.5 seconds!

3 Baseballs & A Cool Dog

I just love Jasper! He can drive me crazy at times and requires lots of care and attention, however, i do think he is my favorite kid. I'm sure that is primarily because i get to lock him up when i leave the house. He really is just the sweetest dog and is my total buddy in the land of nothing. I have no friends, well I have friends, just nobody closer than 45 minutes and I am okay with that. This isn’t a complaining post, I really am fine with my only friend being a dog and a partial friend in my snooty cat. Most of my time revolves around the kids but the school hours revolve around Jasper. Jasper and I run the trail every morning. I know everyone’s schedule pretty much that uses the trail so I can get there at a time where Jasper and I have it all to ourselves. It’s wonderful because this way he can be off his leash and run free! He is the sniffer and loves to follow his nose! It’s hard for him to do this on a leash as I have no desire to leave the trail or go into the water, or more like swamp….I am scared every time he disappears into the dense shrubs or jumps in the water! I worry about him being bitten by snakes or coming out with an alligator chasing him. I’m sure he could outrun the alligator, however, I am positive I will not be able to! Aside from my fears we have a great time running every morning. There are 2 dogs that get to the trail most mornings about the time we are done. They are Jasper’s girls, Jessie a lab and dalmation mix and Bailey who is on the husky side. Jasper loves Jessie, Jessie likes Jasper and Bailey LOVES Jasper!! On certain parts of the trail all three dogs will be off their leashes and they are soooo cute to watch! Jessie is such a sweetheart and Bailey loves to run side by side with Jasper growling at him and swishing her big fluffy tail in his face if he isn’t paying enough attention to her! One day we were walking along and Jasper dove into the bushes and disappeared. We heard all kinds of rustling of branches cracking and leaves shaking. Jasper appeared out of nowhere and dropped a baseball at Jessie’s feet. We all went, “awwwwww”. Jessie walked happily with her gift in her mouth. A few minutes later Jasper disappeared again into the shrubs. Same sound effects as before and presto Jasper appears and drops a baseball at Bailey’s feet. Bailey is thrilled and is walking with her ball in her mouth and again we say “awwwwwwwww” followed by “wow!!!” Believe it or not, Jasper now jumps into the thickery of the shrubs a third time. Same commotion, and like, wow, he comes out with a baseball in HIS mouth!!! Is he the coolest dog or what?! If I was a dog, I would soooo want Jasper to be my boyfriend! But, instead I’m happy to have him as my buddy. I wake up to him in my face in the morning and fall asleep with him trying to take most of my pillow every night.

Lookin' Ghetto, again!

I am quite embarrassed to say that at this very moment I am the epitome of a wife whose Marine is gone. You know, the lady who hasn’t showered, done her hair or makeup and wearing something ridiculous! Well, it is almost 7 o’clock at night and I look just like her. I did brush my teeth though It started out just fine, I took Jasper for our run, we did 4 ½ miles, came home and did my weights and than just started doing the normal housework. The repair guy for the microwave was coming so I didn’t dare get in the shower and miss him! We use our microwave ALL the time! He was supposed to come before 5 pm. Well, 4 0’clock rolls around and the phone rings with a Whirlpool guy telling me the repair man is behind schedule and won’t be at my house until a little after 5. I decide to take a quick shower! My phone rings again as I walk down the hall to my room, it is the repair man informing me he is on his way! Sooo much for my quick shower! It took a couple of hours but he got our microwave fixed while I got thru everyone’s homework. It was time to start basketball practices, so out the door, zip into McDonalds to get everyone a $1 sandwich and to the gym we go. I am sitting here in the bleachers typing on this computer still wearing my clothes I ran in this morning, which consists of black Capri leggings, one of Ed’s long sleeve shirts, Valentine socks, my dirty running shoes, and Ed’s plaid super lined jacket! I have a messy ponytail and of course no make up! Vicki assured me that I am just fine since we live in Richlands!

Seriously?

I had to really bite the inside of mouth tonight to keep from laughing out loud! I was at McDonalds waiting for everyone’s $1 sandwich when a chick came in with a bag containing 3 orders of french fries. She said they were tooooo greasy and she wanted some fresh ones. Hello? Like the fresher the fries the greasier they will be! The manager threw them away and made her new french fries. After they were pulled from the fryer they sat for an incredibly long time under the heat lamp before they were re-bagged and given to the lady. I just thought that was soooo funny!!!

Road Kill

I am sooo tired of the road kill here! I have yet to venture out on the roads and NOT seen the carcass of some not so long ago living animal in the road. So far, I have not hit anything and I do hope it stays that way! There was a dead deer today. I’m just so glad someone moved it to the side of the road as there would not have been room for me to go around it! Don’t be surprised if ya see a picture of me posted sometime in the near future with a pile of dead animals. I get bored out here and I have thought it might be fun to hit the roads and go gather the dead carcasses, borrow a shot gun, and strike a pose!

No Ball This Year

Wow, i will Not have to find the perfect dress, let alone try to fit INTO the perfect dress, will not have to spend an evening freezing while wearing strappy, uncomfortable, high heels, and MOST important, will NOT have to figure out what to do with this mop head of stuff called hair on top of my head!!! There will be no Ball for Ed and i this year. He is gone and with that all the stresses of the Ball evaporated into thin air! I am sure Ed is thrilled to have gotten out of his one obligatory slow dance with the wife for another year. If he plays his cards right, he might just be gone for next years Ball as well. LOL The desert is probably feeling pretty good to him right about now! LOL I figured i would post a few of my favorite pixs from previous Balls since there won't be a new one to post this year...


I love this picture, hanging out with my two favorite DI's! We were spoiled on the Drill Field with Ermey's presence! What a great guy! This has been one of my favorite Balls so far. I just wore a whatever dress and did my own hair, which, i am glad i didn't pay to have it done, as it was pouring rain and my hair was pretty wet by the time we made it inside, so i was a wreck, but it was an evening with some of our favorite people!


This was our second Ball, 1997 I always laugh at this picture! I had found what i thought was the perfect dress, i did my own hair and it was just how i wanted it AND i thought i looked pretty good, well as good as i was capable of looking, but as usual, Ed was oblivious, and as soon as dinner was served we were outta there! He wanted me to change so we could go walk around. I was a little bummed walking by everyone who was still on done up with thier guy in blues, while Ed and i were back in jeans. Yes, it was Vegas, but STILL, i would have liked to have stayed done up just a minute or two longer, or atleast had dessert or maybe a dance....but i learned to not waste time putting myself together for these events in the future. LOL

This was my favorite dress i had made for me on Okinawa. I don't think i will ever have a dress i love more than this one!


A collection of Ball pictures wouldn't be complete without a VERY prego pix! This is Nov 1999 when i was already due with Ty. Ed's buddies twirled me all over the dance floor hoping to break my water so i could have the little guy! Our Ball that year was on the actual Marine Corps birthday! Ty didn't come....in fact i came home from the hospital with Ty on Thanksgiving Day!

This was the really bad hair night Ball. My code name was Medusa!!!!

This Ball i looked like a giant marshmellow, but it was sooo worth it for the experiance of having those two little Okinawan ladies wrap me all up in the traditional formal dress of the Japanese culture! I was not cold at this Ball! It was wonderful!

Couldn't leave Asia without having a Chinese dress made to match Ed's uniform!


Last but not least, the random shot captured by Jorden!

Beaufort Ghost Walk, Oct 2009

There are soo many stories and legends here on the East Coast! Lots of amazing history, fiction and nonfiction. I love it! We decided to check into the ghost stories of Beaufort in October and do the Ghost Walk to put us in the Halloween spirit! Ed’s Dad and Debbie were also visiting, so it was extra fun to share this adventure with family!



We met our guide at nightfall along the water. He was appropriately dressed as a……..yes, you guessed it, PIRATE!!! There were only 4 other people on this walking tour with us, so we were able to get a lot of extra tid bits and ask plenty of questions to a pirate who seemed to know all about this very old place in America! Beaufort is actually the third oldest town in North Carolina and the 12th oldest town on the East Coast! We heard all kinds of stories of the haunting of Beaufort! Many of the Bed & Breakfasts are haunted, Ed and I can’t wait to stay at each one and see what happens! We actually smelled breakfast cooking at one, it somehow always will smell like breakfast foods because of something that happened there. I will not tell the stories as it would be more fun for you to take the walk and hear the stories as you walk by the various locations. The street light went out as we approached Blackbeard’s house! Another story of a boy dressed in long ago clothes being seen playing pranks such as making street lights go out. We didn’t see the boy when the light went out. It came on a few minutes later. There were these misty blurrs and some orbs in the pictures I took where I was by myself, but when I was with the group my photos were “orb and blurry” free! Not sure what that means, just making note of it as I found it interesting. The rest of the family, including Ed was getting creeped out, but I never felt anything funky.



After the tour we drove over to Blackbeard’s house. Vicki and Ty were too creeped out by this point to even get out of the car to let me take their photo in front of his home! Blackbeard was a pretty bad guy! I know you already know all the stories about this guy, so I won’t reiterate the stories in my journal to here. But he was one big guy to fear!!!





He loved each of his wives and conveniently killed each one before he took his next one, what a sweet guy, NOT!! Anyways, had to take a pix of the tree where he hung one of his wives.




I can’t wait to go back during the day and walk the streets so I can see these beautiful old homes! If you have the opportunity, take this Ghost Walk! It was $15 per person 12 and older, $10 ages 2-11 and under 2 was free. It was about an hour of walking to see all the sites and hear all the stories. The guide is not able to take you to Blackbeard’s house as there are not sidewalks, so it is a liability, but he will show you where it is and you can go back later in the dark and find it! We had a little difficulty finding it by the time we got back to that area but it is worth the hunt! It was dark, I put glow sticks on Ty and Ryan. Wear comfortable shoes! Next year we are planning to do the Wilmington Ghost Walk!

The Girl Buried In The Rum Barrel

The legend starts with a husband and wife who emigrated from England…..
After settling in North Carolina, the two had a daughter. This little girl was very inquisitive and really wanted to see where her original family came from. Her mother kept saying no every time she asked. She was too worried about that trans Atlantic journey her daughter would have to take to see where they had come from. After begging with her mother to let her go, the girl’s mother finally said yes and let her go with her father with one condition: that he bring her home in the same condition as she left. The father agreed to the promise and they set sail.
On the return voyage, the mother’s intuitions became a reality as the girl came down with pneumonia overseas and died as the ship left port. With weeks ahead of them sailing home, the only recourse the father had to fulfill his promise was to put her body inside a full rum barrel, hoping the alcohol would preserve it from decomposing.
Apparently the daughter is buried in this cemetery and was buried in the rum barrel. Some people have actually brought equipment that x-rays the ground to confirm that her casket is the shape and size of a run barrel. They say that when toys are left on her grave that she plays with them and they will be scattered about the grave yard the following morning when the gates open, and of course there are those that have claimed to see her running and playing in the graveyard at night. You can believe or not believe, I am just relaying the legend of the Girl Buried In The Rum Barrel

Kishaba Fun

Fun Halloween!

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Capturing The Grin!

While Ty was timing Ryan i began taking pictures of the many faces of Ryan....i just love this kid who gets teeth kicked out, 4 of them so far, and who keeps collecting freckles!



Trying not to grin....

Here it comes....

Finally, the toothless wonder gives me my favorite grin!!

Start the Watch

Ty and Ryan each got a stop watch. They began timing everything!!! Ty decided to see how long Ryan could go without talking........Ryan lasted ONE MINUTE!!!

Tar Heel Pie

Ever since we have arrived in North Carolina i keep hearing "Tar Heel" everything! You see it everywhere on T-shirts, beach towels, etc, and i now even catch it in country songs! So, when i saw this post card with the recipe, i knew it was time to make this pie, and wow, it is sooo easy and simple, not to mention, YUM!! My kinda dessert!

Ingredients:
1 c chocolate chips
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c plain flour
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs beaten

Either make a pie crust or use one of those refrigerated pie crusts, just make sure it is uncooked before you put the pie filling on it and you poke some holes with a fork in it!
You are supposed to put 1 c chopped pecans in it, but due to Ed's nut allergy i haven't made it with the pecans yet! I will try that when he deploys.

Directions:
Heat oven to 350
Pour melted butter, still warm, over chocolate chips and stir. Blend in all remaining ingredients.
Pour into an unbaked pie shell
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes


Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8

I did It!!

I fell in love with the hash brown casserole at Cracker Barrel! I looked at tons of recipes for this and found one that tastes just as fabulous! Family loved it too!!! Now i have a new full of fat breakfast recipe!

Ingredients:

2 lbs frozen hash browns (you can use the package that is just under 2 lbs)
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream (you can also use 8 ounces if you don't have 16)
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped (i use about a cup of onions)
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Set frozen hash browns on counter to get slightly soft while you prepare this
Preheat oven to 350
Spray a 9x13 or 11x14 with cooking spray
Melt butter in small bowl
Mix with spoon cream of chicken soup and sour cream in large mixing bowl
Add butter, salt, and pepper. Stir well
Stir in onions and cheese
Dump in bag of hasb browns
Mix thoroughly
Spread evenly in pan
Bake for 45 minutes or brown on top

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Breakfast Servings: 12

You Can Start Picking Your Nose

Jorden was nominated for Homecoming King. Needless to say, he was not happy about this! Nor was he too thrilled about the girls that were asking him to Homecoming! He's looking at this year as to just do his time, get his diploma, and than blow this popcycle stand called Richlands. There was a boy nominated from each home room class at the beginning. It began to narrow down as the kids kept selecting so many from the original nominations. Jorden was still in the running a few weeks later and had decided that if he made it to the final 4 he just wouldn't show up for the event. I told him he could start picking his nose at school. He looked at me grinning and said, "Mom, i have a few friends that i do like." Needless to say, he didn't have to start the nose picking as he was finally relieved to see he was not on the final four!

My Social Butterfly

Vicki cracks me up! She has always been that girl that has a ton of friends, endless engagements to attend on the calendar, and the phone began ringing for her at tooo young of an age! Now, she will be on the house phone talking to one friend, her cell phone talking to another friend, while texting yet another friend on her cell phone! All this at the same time without bating an eye!

Water, Ice, & What?

Ty and Ryan love to experiment with things. I am continually finding things they are working with. Lately all their experiments are taking place in the freezer!

Not The Glue Gun!

Ed always becomes a little apprehensive when he sees the glue gun out. This is my favorite tool, other than a hammer, well actually it might be a tie between those two. Today when he got home from work he saw the glue gun on the kitchen counter and asked "what did you break/fix?" I laughed and told him to chill, i was just putting up a fall decoration. Some left over fall odds and ends and a glue gun makes a cool door decoration! LOL

Triple Locked In!

Have you ever triple locked yourself in......a bathroom? A public bathroom?! I have! LOL



Maybe I should have asked if it was safe rather than clean...


Actually, it turns out that it took three times to get this lock on right! The first one wasn't quite lined up....the second one was closer, but just not quite there, but the third one, was lined up just right and locked me in! Any guesses on where this bathroom was?

It Was A Julia Entrance!

It was a rainy day and we were heading into the Piggly Wiggly to pick up a few groceries. I was getting the cart when all of a sudden Vicki just bams into me and grabs my shoulders. She's kinda giggling and shrieking, i am thinking she is doing some sort of silly dance move and tell her to chill out before we both go down! It turns out she had slid when coming into the store. (We had just picked her up from an outing that she had to wear a dress to, so she was in heels.) Ed was behind her and said she looked like a deer on ice with her ankles going out while the knees came in. She managed to slide into me and had actually grabbed me to keep her from going completely down! The shrieking and giggling was fear and embaressment, we were not the only ones there. Ed said it was a Julia entrance.

Safe!

I'm a klutz, plain and simple. There is nothing graceful about me. Once again, i went down. I was running Jasper on the trail. I saw someone coming towards us as we were almost back at the beginning of the trail. I called Jasper and clipped his leash back on. I usually have the trail to myself and so I am able to let Jasper run free for most of our run. I do 3 miles he does about 4 with all of his back and forths. We were almost up to the guy when Jasper does his little lunge forward. I pull him back, he fights it, whips around, and i go flying. Literally. The grass is high and really wet. With the speed he was pulling me i got off the ground and did some good sliding. If i was playing baseball and running home, it would have been spectacular to watch, but instead i ended up at this guys feet as he was putting in his headphones with grass in my mouth. But if it was a baseball game, i would have been safe!!!

Glad I Blocked His View!

I had just finished running Jasper and I was letting him sniff around and follow his nose. My main concern was to NOT let him pull me into a spider web when all of a sudden I saw it! A huge turkey was walking right across the parking area heading to the woods. I worked very hard to make sure I blocked Jasper's view of this huge bird. I know that if he had seen it, there would have been nothing i could have done! He would have lunged after it possibly dislocating my shoulder while i went in the air before i let go of the leash! I would have had to just let him go after it into the woods and waited for him to bring me back a big dead bird. Glad i blocked his view!

What Does This Mean?

I'm not quite sure what Jasper is trying to tell me here....but i found all of his toys in his food dish....huummmmmm

New Ways To Torment The Guy Bigger Than Me

I really do not need to say much on this, other than i was laughing the whole time i was making it! The kids were cracking up as they got see if before Dad got home. I was even brave and posted it to both our faceboks and sent it to a few friends....later that evening Ed mentioned that i had told him i loved him a few more times than usual and asked what i had done. I said...'nnnnuuuuuuuutthhhhhiiinnnnnnnnnng? He discovered it later when he checked his e-mail...apparently i now owe him BIG for this....

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It Bounced!

I have two mugs that i just love! You will always see one of them on the counter in the kitchen filled with water and a straw. I jokingly tell the kids that they are taking their life into their own hands when using one of these two mugs as i will kill them if they break one of 'em. ;) Well, Vicki still uses my stripe one all the time. She discovered that it bounces quite well on our kitchen floor! She dropped it and to her relief it didn't break, just bounced and laid there perfectly intact! She hasn't used it since though.....

Cuttin' & Shuckin'

It has been sooo fun to hit the Farmers Markets here! There are sooo many fresh fruits and veggies to choose from! Ed taught Ty and Ryan how to cut beans and shuck corn! These two fellas can now help me with some more tasks during dinner prep! Yay! They did fantastic and there was not even a single drop of blood spilt!

Not Liking The NC Insects!

Plain and simple, i am just NOT used to all these bugs!!! Mosquitoes are everywhere, gotta spray foggers outside and ourselves with stinky repellant! There is a never ending appearance of flies as well! Discovered that we should NEVER, EVER turn on the porch light at night either! Well, unless we want to let in a million flying things when we open the door and spend the next 20 minutes with fly swatters killing the invading forces! I don't like those bugs, but i'm okay with them, but spiders, well that is a whole different story! Snakes, too, but haven't seen any of those yet near the house! I went to walk in the front door and this big hunkin', gruesome thing was above the door. I have a rule, no bugs allowed in or you die! I know it wasn't technically INSIDE the house, but above the front door is close enough, and so he died. It took almost an entire can of spider kill spray stuff, but he finally breathed no more! You know it is a big spider when it is dead and still looks big! I really hate these kind of spiders! They are pretty aggressive and i have had my share of fighting these guys. They fight back and charge you! I'll blog those maybe on a flashback Friday someday....but for now, my house has been sprayed inside and out as well as the perimeter! There is a reason that nothing will ever grow close to the sides of my house! LOL

Dropping Another Tear Drop....

It is quite an interesting feeling when you see a kid you were just teaching at the High School a few months ago, in cammies at SOI! Jorden asked me if I could give him a ride to Camp Geiger as his friend John had liberty today from SOI (School Of Infantry). John was just a student at Kubasaki High School this last year! It is just amazing to think I was teaching him in a classroom and now he is done with Boot Camp, at SOI, and will be ready to go fight in a war within a few months. I’m glad I always wear sunglasses so no one can see when I drop little tear drops here and there at moments like these.

Two Walls & A Beam

I love it when we can take our kids places where they can actually see and touch things to get a real idea and feel of what I am telling them about. We were able to take the kids to three places today right here in Jacksonville, North Carolina! It was perfect, especially for this time of year. September 11th has just passed and the bombing in Beirut happened 26 years ago this coming October. First stop was the Vietnam Memorial. It was beautiful! Right there in the middle of the trees. All the names were engraved on the walls going around the fountain. The kids were able to get a good idea at how many people we lost in that war. Their Grandpa Kenny, my Dad, fought and received his purple heart in that war, so it hits closer to home with them. Next stop was the steel beam from the World Trade Center. It was brought here and put in a memorial for the Firefighters and the Military. The kids could actually touch it and feel how strong and big it was to get an understanding of the type of building it was. Our last stop was the Beirut Memorial. It is interesting that this is right next to the 9/11 Memorial; as the one who orchestrated the Beirut bombing is believed to have inspired bin Laden. Terrorist attacks started long before 9/11. I remember when this happened. My Dad lost several friends in this attack. I will always remember his face when he told me what had happened. Here is just a little bit of history on Beirut….
The Beirut mission began as an effort to stabilize a fragile peace in this war-torn country. Lebanon had been a mess since the Palestine Liberation Organization, having been literally kicked out of Jordan, they took refuge there in the 1970s. In 1975, a group of Christian and Muslim militias, some backed by neighboring powers like Iran, Syria and Israel, turned what once was a Middle East oasis into a no-man's land of basic urban warfare.

Than, Israel invaded in 1982, hoping to just wipe out the PLO. In exchange for Israel to withdrawal, the U.N. sent in a peacekeeping force of troops from Great Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

U.S. forces set up camp right there at Beirut International Airport. This was not an easy spot to defend because like the airport was still open for business and then there were still warring factions that happened to control the strategic hillsides nearby.

The situation fell apart quickly. Militia leaders of course began to think the United States and its allies were favoring the Christian-led forces of the Lebanese government. A car-bomb attack at the U.S. Embassy in April 1983 that killed 63 people solidified that.
On Oct 23 1983 a suicide bomber steered a truck loaded with the equivalent of six tons of TNT down the airport road in Beirut, Lebanon. He plowed into the four-story barracks where more than 300 U.S. troops from a U.N. peacekeeping mission slept and detonated what the FBI called the largest non-nuclear bomb in history
A splinter group of the Iranian-and Syrian-supported Hezbollah organization carried out the attack, which allegedly was planned by a man who later inspired Osama bin Laden. Then a tiny guerrilla outfit, Hezbollah has grown into a political and military force in Lebanon.
The Marines' departure brought Beirut no peace. The civil war raged for seven more years until a settlement left Syria firmly in control of the country.

Experts believe Imad Mugniyah played a key role in the twin bombings in Beirut and went on to mastermind the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and a series of kidnappings of Americans in Lebanon. He is believed to have met with bin Laden in Sudan in 1996 and was assassinated in a car bombing in Damascus, Syria, in February. No one has claimed responsibility.
It was the largest single-day loss of life for Marines since the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.
Almost 26 years later and two wars with Iraq have dulled the public's memory of the Beirut attack. But, I won't ever forget my Dad's face that day.....pictures are on my facebook

Lost In A Corn Maze!

We are having fun discovering all the places to go and things to do here at our new duty station. Our destinations usually begin with Google, than venture over to mapquest, and then we find ourselves at another new place to discover. Today Ed found a corn maze on Google. Vicki wrote out directions from mapquest, and we made it to this cool farm. This nice guy, the owner of the farm, loaded us up into a wagon of hay and he pulled us with his tractor out to the maze. We divided into two teams, Ed took Thing One & Thing Two and I took Jorden and Vicki. As a team, we had to find 4 poker chips, one red, one white, one blue, and one green as well as find our way out with a perfectly undisturbed piece of corn. It was warm and Vicki was grumbling about the heat. I just kept hoping we wouldn’t run into a freaky scarecrow like from The Messengers movie, and Jorden was just being a good sport. We found three poker chips pretty quick….we also told Ed where we had found the chips. He didn’t let us know where the other chip was that they had found, so they won. They also had a better piece of corn than us. Vicki picked a midget corn. But we had fun and didn’t get terribly lost in the maze. We took the kids on something they had never done before, so mission was accomplished! The rest of the pictures are on my facebook in the album North Carolina